Have pride in your work
At my previous job, the groundskeeper told me about his ambitions on having the cleanest and nicest campus in the country. He mentioned his goal of a clean and trash-free facility so that whenever people come to the campus, they would feel inspired or recharged.
It’s difficult to find people that find pride in their work because it involves caring for something on a personal level. For a lot of us, work isn’t the place that sparks passion and care. It’s just a place to come and go. I believe it’s important to find pride in your work, no matter what it is that you do.
More than yourself
From our talk, the groundskeeper kept mentioning the effects of how a clean campus would affect others positively. He wanted people to drive by and mention how this campus was different than other parks. It would be so clean and serene that it would uplift their spirits. A destination others would go out of their way to come to so they could have lunch there or even bring friends/family to enjoy the scenery.
He mentioned how he wanted his own children to see the work their dad did and be proud of him. In a way, it was a reflection of the values and morals he tries to instill in them. He didn’t want to be that dad that only talk the talk. Through his actions, he could make a difference, and never settle for average.
I would ask him what’s the process of keeping the campus clean, just to see how he thinks and whether there’s a process. He told me it’s about the little things like making sure people don’t see trash and litter everywhere. The bathrooms have to be clean and up-kept. If people saw how dirty the place was, they would immediately think that is the norm and that it was okay to litter here.
He told me about the time when people would drive to the park just to throw their trash away. I asked if that annoyed him since they could’ve thrown it away at home and he said it was better that way. It’s much better than littering. In fact, it told him that they trusted the staff to properly dispose of it because our campus had a reputation for properly disposing of trash.
The community was taking note and everyone was doing their part in keeping the area clean. During events, I overheard members reminding other people to pick up after themselves because this was an area they’d rented for years, and didn’t want uncleanliness to disrupt the trust they’d built.
Pride is contagious
Establishing an identity or a reputation, especially a positive one is hard to build and harder to maintain. But if you want to start, start small and get buy-in from everyone. You need to lead by example and explain the reasoning why you’re doing this to others so they can join the cause. It’s easy when the reason is keeping the campus clean, but not as persuasive as becoming a sanctuary for people and a place of peace for those that need it.
Our groundskeeper had a bigger goal in mind, but he was realistic in his approach. It would take longer than a few months and more than a few motivating speeches. He needed the right people to assist him — spreading the message or creating policies. I did my part by cleaning up and calling out those that would not pick up their trash. Before I knew it, I was talking to our leadership team about cracking down on vendors, programs, and events on whether they kept the venue clean afterward.
If they didn’t, we can put probation on them or a warning. We could do this because there was such a high demand to get in. We knew that if they couldn’t follow the rules, then someone else could take their spot in a heartbeat.
I asked myself why I cared so much to do all of this when I barely got to see the campus since I was in a cubicle all day. To be honest, it was pride. To be clear, I was a bit of anger and pride. I was upset at myself for not caring about the campus as much as our groundskeeper. It didn’t matter if it was his job or not, I pride myself in doing a good job in all aspects. Picking up trash or talking to clients, I want to be the best at it.
How to have pride in your work
It was a moment of clarity on whether I cared about what I did or not. More importantly, it was a lesson on who I was as an individual. Was I someone that let things get worse? Someone that didn’t take any accountability? Perhaps someone brushed off another’s suggestion or passion in their work?
I find the setting where the character line is a better question than finding a job you love because those are harder to find or you have to get really good at them to start liking your job. I truly only enjoyed my job once I got the fundamentals down and could add my own flair to it.
It separates the job and becomes all about your character. So regardless if your job sucks or the people around you are terrible, you always can choose your non-negotiable. A few easy ones are not taking shortcuts and doing things right, honesty, hard work, etc. It’s similar to every single motivational poster or quote you’ve seen, but they’re universal.
So it doesn’t matter what you do, but how your conduct in doing it. You might not like talking to rude customers but it’s your character to treat everyone with respect and patience. In a way, these are skills you’re developing and testing whenever you’re “challenged”.
I remembered losing my temper dealing with a demanding and loud customer. I could justify my behavior because I was a lousy person but I wouldn’t gain anything from thinking like that. Instead, it was a realization that I couldn’t remain calm as much as I’d like and it was now an opportunity to improve in that area. I figure as you keep pushing the threshold on what you tolerate, you’ll simply get better.
I think of it like a muscle, you have to keep using it or else you’ll lose function. Or worse, you fall into the justifications game and accept whatever behavior you’re conducting. This often clashes with your character line — your standards.
It’s being selfish in an unselfish way, and coincidentally that’s why there is an “I” in pride.
*Check out my last article on The luxury of fatherhood*
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